San Antonio, Texas – Trinity University Women's Tennis returns to the ITA Southwest Regional Championships this week, with the Tigers set to host the tournament beginning Thursday, September 24.
Doubles play will open the tournament at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, followed by singles at 10:30 a.m. Trinity enters the tournament with all nine of its competitors seeded in the championship draw, setting the stage for another strong showing on its home courts.
The Tigers will look to build on a long history of success at the regional championships. Last season, Trinity swept both the singles and doubles titles in all-Trinity finals.
Lucy Nabedrick (Plymouth, Minn./ Wayzata) claimed the singles championship, defeating teammate
Rosabella Andrade (Southlake, Texas / Carroll) 6-1, 6-3, while Andrade and
Trinity Levy (Camarillo, Calif. / Weil Prep School) captured the doubles title with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Nabedrick and
Eva Kovachev (Arlington, Texas / The Oakridge School).
With all nine Trinity players seeded in the singles draw, the Tigers bring significant depth into a tournament that appears wide open. There is no defending champion in this year's draw, creating an opportunity for a new name to emerge at the top.
In singles, first-seed Kovachev leads the Tiger contingent after a standout sophomore season. Kovachev earned First Team All-SAA honors in singles last season and was named both the SAA Player and Newcomer of the Year. She reached the doubles final at last year's regional championships and will look to make another deep run this weekend.
Second-seed Andrade enters the tournament with plenty of regional experience after reaching the singles final last season. Andrade earned First Team All-SAA honors in both singles and doubles last season and will look to take the next step after finishing runner-up a year ago.
Third-seed
Lauren Tin (Austin, Texas / Vandegrift) also enters the tournament with an impressive resume. Tin was named the SAA All-Tournament MVP last season while earning First Team All-SAA honors in singles and Second Team honors in doubles. Fourth-seed,
Astrid Kerrman (Edina, Minn. / Edina) rounds out Trinity's top four seeds after a strong first season with the Tigers.
The doubles draw presents another opportunity for Trinity to continue its regional success. Andrade and Kovachev enter as the tournament's top seed. Kovachev reached the doubles final last season, while Andrade captured the regional doubles championship alongside Levy. The second-seeded Tiger duo of
Katie Schmidt (Prairie Village, Kan. / Shawnee Mission East) and
Lauren Tin also returns with regional experience after reaching the semifinals last season.
With familiar names returning and several new opportunities throughout the draw, the Tigers will look to use their depth and experience to make another run at the regional championships. After sweeping both titles last season, Trinity will begin its pursuit of another regional championship Thursday morning at McFarlin Tennis Center.
Looking Ahead – ITA Cup
The winners of the ITA Southwest Regional singles and doubles championships will advance to the ITA Cup in Rome, Georgia, where they will compete against regional champions from across the country.
